Interview: Eight Minutes with Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr doesn’t actually like being interviewed. He will cut the interview short if he doesn’t like the line of questioning, which especially includes asking too many Beatles questions. He’s much happier just having a conversation. Alas, on a day off from his latest All-Starr Band tour, he’s at the Soho Contemporary Art Gallery in New York City to talk about his computer generated artwork, which he’s been working on since about 2005. His art promotes his all-but trademarked message of — you guessed it — peace and love.

In fact, his mantra of “peace and love” is so well-known at this point, that when he saunters into the gallery he asks the group of journalists setting up, “What do you say?” and everyone answers back with — you guessed it — “peace and love.”

How do you interview a Beatle in just eight minutes? Very carefully. Along with his digital art, Ringo rhapsodized about the current iteration of the All-Starr Band, which includes Todd Rundgren (guitar, vocals), Toto‘s Steve Lukather (guitar, vocals), Mr. Mister‘s Richard Page (bass, vocals), foundingSantana and Journey-man Gregg Rolie (keyboards and vocals), Gregg Bissonette (drums) and Warren Ham (saxophone, keyboards, vocals).

Other than Ham, the band has been playing together since 2012, a lengthy amount of time by All-Starr standards considering Ringo usually shuffles the deck on his bands after one tour. But he seems to be having a great time with these guys, and with life in general these days. He didn’t even seem to mind speaking on the record this time around.